In era of opinion, ABC News doubles down on facts

It's a familiar sight in the current news landscape - panels of suited men rambling loudly on some polemical hot topic, all throbbing veins and manufactured conflict.

For ABC News boss Tim Ayliffe, it's the right time to go back to basics.

"We've seen a general shift, not just in Australia but around the world, where opinionated journalism is the noisiest and the one that gets the biggest headlines.

"We want to step away from that and let others do the opinion," says Mr Ayliffe, managing editor of television and video at ABC News (formerly ABC News 24).

Mr Ayliffe, who took over the position last year after executive producer and national editor roles on the channel's breakfast and 7 o'clock news programs, is overseeing its revitalisation efforts, described by the broadcaster as its "biggest shake-up" since the channel's July 2010 launch.

As part of that relaunch, debuting on Monday, he's brought in heavyweights Stan Grant and Patricia Karvelas to anchor their own prime-time shows, while Karina Carvalho moves into the 7pm news line-up.

The focus is on sticking with the public broadcaster's "bread and butter", says Mr Ayliffe: following the facts, telling stories by and for regional Australia, and - although he refused to be drawn on the network's key competitor, Sky News - avoiding the blustering commentary that generates spicy headlines.

"The overall strategy for us is to hit the pause button and step outside the frenetic news cycle, and spend a bit more time explaining a story by going in a bit deeper."

For Grant, who's taking the reins on Matter of Fact - a nightly 9pm program delving into world affairs, and everything from the economy to the arts - that mission statement was appealing.

"This is the sort of program I want to do at this stage of my career, and I believe there's a real need for this - to engage in issues in a way that isn't just 'content-based', but is factual, rational, reasonable discussion," he says.

In a somewhat serendipitous occurrence, the show's opening week hits at the same time as Donald Trump's State of the Union address, Grant notes - a man whose "fake news" admonitions have renewed the media's "facts-first" fire.

"Even with Trump, it's important we understand that not everything he says is going to be wrong, and not everything his opponents say is going to be right," says Grant.

"We all know that facts can be selective, and we all know that truths can be subjective. I want to sort of hold those things up to the light.

"Every day on my program, I just want to ask a simple question, and that is: 'What is the smartest thing we can talk about today, and who are the most informed people we can get to speak to about it?' I think the audience is looking for that."

While ABC News remains the nation's leading news channel, reaching on average 2.3 million viewers per week in the five major capital cities (14 per cent of the total metro population), Sky News - with its stable of "lefty loons"-baiting presenters (#NotAllSkyNews, of course) - is proving polemical commentary can attract followings and grab media attention, as controversial as it might be. Can a "facts-first" approach sustain viewer interest?

Stan Grant. Photo: Dallas Kilponen

"Facts aren't boring," says Karvelas, host of the new interview-based national affairs program National Wrap (she calls the show a natural extension of what she does on Radio National's Drive, "but on TV").

"I think there's a false dichotomy between alarmism and excitement ... The best journalism is one that gives people a real sense of someone's vision or agenda," she says.

In a promising coup, her first episode will see her putting questions to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.

"I think he'll be a good interview before the first sitting week of the year," she says. "And I want to ask him broader questions, about the kind of prime minister he wants to be.

"That's what I mean when I say this program will focus on the macro and not the micro all the time... Our viewers expect us to be bigger thinkers and to ask questions that go beyond the next news grab."